With time on our hands during the Coronavirus lockdown, we are reviewing the prices of some of our older stock and adjusting prices of books to ensure that they are the most attractive offering in the marketplace, as it is a reality of the antiquarian market for books that less expensive and mid-level material the trend has been inexorably downward, to the chagrin of booksellers and to the benefit of collectors. Consequently, we have slashed prices anywhere between 20 percent and 60 percent of these books we have had listed for five years or more. So we hope that anyone visiting the site might find something that might have become overpriced but now legitimately qualifies as a bargain.

Games

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1

Atlas [Jigsaw Puzzles]Paris Longerot Box Near Fine N.d. Circa 1875, three jigsaw puzzle maps, one of the world, featuring two impressions; of France and its departments and of Europe. Each puzzle measures 12 by 9 inches, 31 by 23 cm. Dating based both on the box and style of printing as well as the geographic status of various locations. Italy is unified and Alsace and Lorraine have been ceded by France yet Turkey still has dominion over much of the Balkans, including Romania, which gained independence in 1878 at the Conference of Berlin. Printed by Imp. Monrocq. of Paris. The puzzles have some light age toning and some minor light soilage besides. The box similarly has some wear, some minor paper loss and soilage but is very much intact and remains handsome.
Price:
300.00 USD

Chromolithographic Outer Walls of a Go Fishing GameNA Very Good N.d., circa 1890. The boards of the four linked walls collapse to lay flat. The object of the game was to attempt to fish out small fish from within the well. None of these fish but one, nor the rods used, are now present, but the outer panels remain highly decorative with their illustration of fish, frogs, a kingfisher, lily pads and shore grasses. The four sides are in fact identical. The sides are oblong, each being 31.5 by 34 cm.
Price:
100.00 USD

French Miniature CheckerboardFrance Box Very Good N.d., late nineteenth century. 69 by 48 mm, with box board lies atop 22 mm tall. Within the box is another smaller box with checker pieces, which are all ther. Unknown maker, but clearly French since one side of the board says "Pions Blancs", the other side, "Pions Noirs". Light wear.
Price:
300.00 USD

It's All in the DrawWraps Very Good N.d., circa 1890s. Oblong, measuring 24 by 14 cm, 9.5 by 5.5 inches. 20 pp, including cover. Full of caricatures of four poker players and their various expressions and reactions to various hands. On facing pages are witty rhymed captions incorporating in the lettering paraphernalia associated with the game of poker. An unusual item that highlights the emotional of this most psychologically complex of card games. On the second to last page is an advertisement for the United States Cartridge Company, and facing it on the last lear is a reproduction of a print showing hunters around a campfire, with deer strapped to a branch. With no publisher given, it is probable that this was issued by said company. Minor wear to the wrappers, made of heavy card stock, as are all the leaves. A small chip to the surface in a corner of the front cover. Small surface abrasion by this corner, front cover. Bound with thin cord. The center of three holes has tear to the edge, and the cords, which can be adjusted, are virtually impossible to set just right. Either they make the book too tight or too loose.
Price:
450.00 USD

Loto Animé Comique et Amusant [A Dozen Comical Chromolithographed French Metamorphic Lotto Cards]Saussine (?) NA Very Good A colorful burlesque of visual humor, with oversized heads, acrobats, tourists, lawyers, astronomers, etc. all made absurd. N.d., circa 1880. Each card oblong, 13 by 22 cm, and each with four movable pieces. Movable elements attached to card with brass rings. Cards with one or two short captions. Figures drawn in broad caricature. Note that there are similar, yet different, lotto cards from the same period. The twelve we believe to be the full complement of cards issued together. Condition: light to moderate wear. Some light scattered foxing. No box nor chips. All moving pieces, though, are in good working order, and color printing remains vibrant.
Price:
950.00 USD

LottoNA Near Fine Beautiful zoological lotto set, with rich animal chromolithographic illustrations on the lotto cards. N.d., circa 1890. The outer box, red pebbled cloth surface, with gilt and green trellis border pattern, etc. Measuring 31 by 23 by 6.5 cm. Three compartments inside for cards and the various pieces. Also with instruction sheet. 24 cards, with six different illustrations (four cards intended for each illustration), and assumed complete. Cards measure 10 by 21 cm. Designs include a fox looking into a hen house, pelicans by a pond, wolves eye-ing sheep, dogs pursuing rabbits, kittens, and birds. Two types of round pieces -- numbered for the master of ceremonies, and colored unnumbered, for players. We would guess there were more unnumbered pieces at one time. Other than possible missing pieces, no condition issues to speak of other than light wear.
Price:
200.00 USD

Old MaidSpringfield, MA Milton Bradley Co. Box Very Good N.d., circa 1920. An antique deck of Old Maid cards, complete, 31 in all, featuring Milkman, Grocer, Postman, Gardner, Doctor Busby, Policeman, etc. 15 pairs, plus the Old Maid. With original box showing Old Maid knitting in company of a black cat. Cards have trivial occasional soilage, as does box. Box remains solid, with minor loss of paper that was pasted on board. No instructions, which probably did accompany the cards originally.
Price:
25.00 USD

Schadumbeelden Jan Klaassen SpelVery Good N.d., circa 1900. This shadow theater is of relatively uncommon Dutch origin. The way shadow theater works is a light is cast onto a screen or scrim, behind which figures are moved and seen by the audience as shadows. The pieces in the case of this theater are moved from below so that the audience doesn't see the intrusion of a human arm, etc. The stage for this set is brightly colored and somewhat naive in its detailing. The figures are cut on card. The stage itself has some light foxing. The figures are all in good repair although it is unknown how complete the set is.
Price:
500.00 USD

Sehr feine Aufschlagkarten Nr. IV. [Tarot deck] Serbo-Kroatisch, Ungarisch, English, Deutsch, Italienisch. 32 BlattWien Ferdinand Piatnik & Sohne N.d., circa 1920s, as evident by the fashions and the louche aura of the imagery, with a fair amount of partial nudity in this tarot deck of 32 cards. The box itself features an image that harks back to an earlier time. The words for each card are rendered in five languages, as was common among the German-made tarot decks. What makes the deck a treat is the winsome imagery, so simple, occasionally amusing, enlivened always by brash color.
Price:
200.00 USD

Silver Bullet. Or the Road to Berlin British Design. Registered. British Made.NA Very Good A scarce relic of anti-German propaganda aimed at children during World War One! N.d., manufactured sometime between 1914 and 1918. The game is the classic dexterity puzzle in which the player tries to manipulate a small metal ball on a course to a final objective while avoiding falling into one of many holes. Unlike other versions of this game, there are two metal balls, and the instructions given on the back of the game board suggest unusually that this is so two can compete against one another on this game. To play the game effectively requires quick movements as the ball is rolling along, and perhaps also a slow and deliberate manipulation of the board so as to prevent the ball from unduly accelerating, causing a loss of control. The final objective in this case is reaching Berlin. Along the way the player must elude holes labelled Cologne, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Dresden, Hanover, Potsdam, Hamburg and Spandau, all of these representing "fortresses". These cities are not in a geographical alignment, so really they represent here a fanciful progression of cities that would have to fall to close in on the German capital. Also captioning holes are "Entrenchments", "Bridge Destroyed" and "Road Mined", and these speak of the typical hazards confronting the British, and also hazards created by the British against the Germans. The Silver Bullet was not the only dexterity game of this sort created during the First World War. We know of another using enemy personalities instead of places, and there were versions in French as well. Instructions are given on the rear card. With the frame, the game measures 24 by 16 cm. The green raised surface -- the land above the trenches -- has some unevenness of coloring as if some areas had been sunned. The pastedown instructions are soiled but still entirely legible. The two balls can sometimes get stuck underneath but a few taps from the back of the board will liberate them.
Price:
850.00 USD

Sliced ObjectsNew York Selchow & Righter Very Good Plus Paper. Circa 1870s word game with 72 pieces, each with a letter and part of a picture illustration one of twelve words (11 of the pieces have no letter and add to the width of the pictorial for the words "bridge" and "coach". The pieces, or "slices" as they are called, are 7.25 by 1.25 inches each. Several of the illustrations relate to specific New York City locations: St. Paul's Church between Vesey and Fulton Streets, the statue of Washington in Union Square, the High Bridge spanning the Harlem River, the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, and the "Stevens" House, which is a typical neo-Gothic pile such as once populated Fifth Avenue. It is quite conceivable that some of the other items too had a specific New York context, but I have not been able to establish that as yet. The words are: coach, yacht, boat, fort, house, fountain, bridge, car, dam, statue, engine, and church. All the illustrations have delightful color and would work well framed and hung on a wall. The box housing the pieces provides instructions for the game underneath the lid along with black and white illustrations of each object. All the pieces are present, and most are clean, with a few having some minor soilage. The box has the usual wear along edges and soilage of the top illustration. The box has had some repair, with one edge of the lid a slightly different color, but overall it has integrity as a box and if treated respectfully, should remain attractively so. The box measures 9 by 8 by 1 inch. Quite an extraordinary rare game with special interest for Gothamites.
Price:
300.00 USD

The Three Bears Picture Puzzle. Series No. 370. Three Puzzles in This Box.Utica, NY Madmar Quality Company Near Fine N.d., circa 1920s. Fun prints of classic children's tale. Each puzzle (simple jigsaw puzzles) is about 12 by 9 inches. Some wear to box but it remains sound and attractive. Puzzles likewise have some light wear but overall fine condition. No guides, or prints of the puzzle, that are original to the set. Color xerox copies provided.
Price:
150.00 USD

N.d., circa 1880. Ombres Chinois is a type of toy theater in which silhouette or shadows of figures move behind a scrim or screen upon which light is cast. The figures are held typically by wire or thread so as to avoid the inadvertent appearance of the manipulator's arms. This set of Ombres Chinois includes a stage and many figures, most of which are in good repair, and a fabulous outer box. No playlets are included, although they may have come with the original set. Typically with toy theater, the user, typically children, young adults and grown-ups who might have provided a hand, would be supplemented with plays and figurine pieces that would be purchased separately or perhaps made from scratch by the user. Also, the figures would generally come on a thin paper sheet, requiring the user to cut out the figures and then mount them onto a stiffer board or card, a task requiring more skill than a young child could probably manage on his own. Thus we find in this box both figures that are stiffened with card and then some that have yet to be appropriately mounted, as well as part of a sheet from which characters have already been cut out.
Price:
950.00 USD

[Trade Promotion] Parlor PartiesLudington, Michigan The Carrom Company First NA Very Good N.d., circa 1915 -- based on statement to effect company founded 22 years prior. 12mo. 15.5 by 8.5 cm. 32 pp., including cover. Describing all kinds of do-it-yourself games and holiday activities -- games requiring no equipment or game board, with ads for the company's own board games, with b/w photos, interspersed. So not exactly a trade catalogue. Some of the games were known games, while others we believe were conceived by whoever wrote the brochure. Among the most peculiar of the games is the one called the "Quaker Meeting." Condition: soiling on the cover.
Price:
75.00 USD

Gustav SiegertHerzblattchens TheaterAnsbach Max Eichinger's Hofbuchhandlung Very Good N.d., circa 1890. With three different sets of stage scenery, along with the base to plant the scenery. Each set came with a full backdrop and two boards with wings. This toy theater was intended for children between the ages of six and twelve. It cost, supposedly, four marks in its day, and it appears that there may have been six playlets that accompanied the sets, entitled "Kindliche Liebe", "Das Goldtischlein", "Die Friednstifterin", "Das Herrliche Goldstuck", "Der Treue Karo" and "Jo, der Negersklave". Two of the sets are complete, with the third missing one of the wing boards but with a duplicate of the one it has. The card piece that helps hold the scenery boards in place from above has a crease that makes it a little trickier to use as intended, and the some set boards have a tendency to lift out of the slots of the base. Still, all the sets can be displayed attractively, with the qualification of the one with the duplicate wing board. The text to the playlets is missing. The original box is still solid and usable.
Price:
750.00 USD

P. Boiteau d'AmblyLes Cartes a Jouer et la Cartomancie, [together with] a set of twelve elaborately hand-drawn playing cards in a historical design Ouvrage Illustre de 40 BoisParis L. Hachette et Cie. 1854 First Edition Onlay Binding, Full Morocco, with Custom Clamshell Fine A magnificent onlay binding and twelve hand-drawn cards in a Renaissance style! 8vo. (6.75" x 4.5", or 17 by 11 cm.) 390 pp. This is an early attempt to bring rigor to the subject of the history of cards. The modern morocco binding features a diamond pattern with a centerpiece diaper made up of blindstamped fleur-de-lys, the whole surrounded by a black border. The binding is in pristine condition. Occasional light soiling of the leaves, never bothersome. The separate cards may well be original designs rendered in the style of, for no exact source is known, and there is no specific model within this book or several other sources checked. Marbled edges to the book. A few of the cards have light foxing. The clamshell box has a short tear at the front joint but is otherwise in fine condition.
Price:
575.00 USD